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Press Release detail

2008-09-02

Date:

09/02/2008

Maeci

The minister assured his guest of the Italian government’s profound satisfaction for the positive conclusion to the affair.

Referring to the dramatic problem of abductions in Colombia that continues to involve the hundreds of persons held hostage by the FARC, the ELN, paramilitary groups and common criminals, the minister ensured Italy’s willingness to contribute to the European Union’s shared efforts to promote an international peace and reconciliation initiative leading to the liberation of all those hostages, obviously on precise conditions and without resorting to the shortcut of secret negotiations.

Minister Frattini expressed the particular expectation that the countries of Latin America make a joint effort to foster such an initiative, within a framework of regional collaboration on stability, security and socio-economic development.

Mrs. Betancourt expressed her thanks for everything Italy had done over the years on behalf of her release, recalling the dramatic conditions in which the persons still being held in Colombia are living. Sharing Minister Frattini’s considerations, she voiced her fervent hope that the international community’s commitment is effective enough to bring change to a situation with such tragic human, and complex political, implications.